News

No. 24 Lady Wildcats Head to National Tournament for Fourth Time-Face Benedictine College in 1st Round

3/8/2013

9:14 am

Kansas City, Mo. –The No. 24 Bethel University Lady Wildcats will be making their fourth appearance in the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship Series which begins March 13 in Frankfort, Kentucky at the Franklin Convention Center. Bethel appeared in the championship in 2009, 2010, and 2011. The Lady Wildcats advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2010 and 2011. Bethel is 2-3 in the championship series. Bethel will face No. 11 Benedictine College in first round action Thursday night, March 14 at 8:45 p.m. It is the first championship series appearance ever for the Lady Ravens.

The Matchup: The Lady Cats enter the game with a 21 -10 record. The Lady Cats are coming off a 68-54 loss to No. 1 ranked Freed-Hardeman in the semi-finals of the TranSouth Athletic Conference tournament. Bethel was 4-4 in conference play during the regular season. Bethel was 16-2 at home this year. The Lady Cats were 5-8 in road games and did not play a neutral site game during the 2012-13 season. Bethel played five teams this season who are in the 32-team field. Benedictine was 27-5 on the season and qualified by being the Heart of America Athletic Conference regular season runner-up. They had a 16-3 conference mark and won 14 of their 17 home games. BC was 13-2 on the road. They are coming off a 78-70 conference tournament loss to Central Methodist.

On the Air: Cat and Lady Cat basketball can be heard on WEIO, 100.9, The Farm, with pre-game action beginning thirty minutes prior to tip-off. Dave McCulley, Adam Welch, and Derrick Hubble call the action. Fans can also listen at www.thefarmradio.com.

Coaches: Chris Nelson is in his seventh season as head coach of the Lady Wildcats. He is 135 -86 in his career. He has carried the Lady Wildcats to all four of their NAIA Division I championship series appearances. Chad Folsom is in his 12th season as the head coach at Benedictine. He is 259-131 with the Ravens. His teams have averaged 21-plus win seasons 11 straight seasons.

Coach Nelson's Comment's: "We are ecstatic to be playing this time of year. We are very proud of the work our girls have been able to accomplish and getting our program back to the National Tournament. The journey to get to this point is always long, but the reward of getting here and competing against 31 other teams for a National Championship is something special. Only two teams in the whole field have ever won the tourney (OK City/ Vanguard) so we feel like it is wide open. It is a fun time of year and our girls are ready to enjoy it. We will prep for Benedictine and come up with a game plan, but the goal is for us to be the best version of our team we can possibly be and we feel like that is good enough."

Did You Know?

Bethel is 18-2 when they lead at the half. They are 3-7 when they trail at the break. The Lady Cars are 0-1 when tied at the break.

The Lady Cats are 19-2 when they out rebound their opponent. They are 2-7 when they are out rebounded. They are 0-1 when tied in a game.

Bethel is 19-5 when they force their opponent into more turnovers. They are 2-4 when they commit more turnovers. They are 0-1 when they are tied in turnovers.

Bethel is 15-1 when they outshoot their opponent. They are 6-9 when outshot.

The Lady Cats are 12-3 when they make more free throws. They are 8-5 when the opponent makes more free throws in a game. They are 1-2 when tied in free throws.

Bethel is 16-5 when they make more three's in a contest. They are 2-4 when the opponent makes more three's in a game. Bethel is 3-1 when tied in three-pointers.

The Lady Cats are 18-3 when they have more steals in a game. They are 2-6 when the opponent has more. They are 1-1 when they are tied in steals.

Bethel is 16-2 at home. They are 5-8 on the road.

The Lady Cats are 11-8 at night and 10- 2 in day games.

Bethel is 12th in the country in three-pointers made per contest at 6.8 per game. Benedictine is 13th in the nation averaging 6.7 three's made per game.

The Lady Cats are 14th in scoring offense per game at 73.1.

Four Lady Wildcats average in double figures in scoring per game. Alisha Gentry averages 14.4 points per game. Jasmine Taylor pops in 12.7 points per contest. Jackliann Street averages 10.8 points per game. Perica Glenn is averaging 10.9 points per contest. Glenn has scored in double figures in nine of Bethel's last ten games. Glenn is shooting 55 percent from the foul line on the season but has hit over 75 percent from there in her last 14 games.

Katie Van Dyke has hit 147 three-point field goals in her Bethel career. She is one point from 500 in her career at Bethel. Her 65 three's this season ties her for sixth most in a season with Kayla McSweeney (01-02). Jasmine Taylor surpassed the 600 career point mark against Blue Mountain Saturday. She has scored 632 points as a Lady Wildcat.

The 45 points scored by Lorna Hudson against Morthland is the national scoring high in any single game in the nation this season.

Bethel had four players named as TranSouth Conference Scholar Athletes. Congratulations to Halie Miller, Lorna Hudson, Jasmine Porter, and Camille Copper for their efforts on and off the court.

Alisha Gentry and Jasmine Taylor were named to the TSAC All-Conference squad. Lorna Hudson and Jackliann Street were named to the all-freshman team with Street being named as the Freshman of the Year.

Bethel is 3-0 when scoring 100 points or more in a game. Bethel is 2-0 when the score in the 90's. They are 5-0 when scoring in the 80's. The Lady Cats are 5-1 when scoring in the 70's. They are 4-3 when in the 60's. The Lady Cats are 1-4 when scoring in the 50's and 1-2 when scoring in the 40's.

The Ravens are led in scoring by junior Justice Payne who averages 12.7 points per game. She has hit a school record 87 three-pointers this season. The Ravens are 10th in the nation in team three's made with 216.

Senior Kelsey Anselmi is seventh in the nation averaging 5.5 assists per game. She has 177 assists on the year and is 13 shy of setting a new single season school record.

Sharon Scruton, Associate Professor of English

Testimonial

"I am passionate about teaching and ideas, so I love to see passion in students who dedicate themselves to the athletic, artistic, and academic culture of Bethel’s College of Liberal Arts—students who paint their faces purple and gold to cheer on the Wildcats, students who spend long hours rehearsing for theater and music performances, students who give back to the community by volunteering for Make A Difference Day or Read Across America or the local Humane Society, and students who stay after class to talk more about the ideas presented that day. I look around campus and I see boundless enthusiasm, I see passions realized. I know mine are."

Students from any major can sign up to take SOC 490 (Global Service Learning), a course offered by Bethel's Sociology department that provides students with opportunities to learn and serve around the globe.This year's service project will take place in Cali, Colombia June 1-10, 2015 and will involve teaching English at Colegio Americano, a school affiliated with the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.